Winsday Wisdom
How are you doing tomorrow?
That was the question I was asked by the bubbly carhop delivering my soft drink. “How are you doing tomorrow?”
As she was gathering her mixed up thoughts, I responded with a smile, “Tomorrow is going very well Today. Thanks.”
The embarrassed girl apologized and said she meant to ask about today.
I told her it was no big deal because tomorrow is just a day away.
No, I did not sing the lyrics that my granddaughter, Ireland, sang in the Annie musical.
The sun will come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There’ll be sun!
Just thinking about
Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
‘Til there’s none!
When I’m stuck in a day
That’s gray,
And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh
The sun will come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
‘Til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow!
Tomorrow!
I love ya
Tomorrow!
You’re always a day away
How are you doing tomorrow? I imagine we all think often and even too much about tomorrow when it is today.
Jesus said, “Do not be anxious or worry about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow. Live one day at a time” (Matthew 6:34).
But we do not live one day at a time. Our tomorrows cost us too much of our todays.
You are exactly where I was at the fast-food place. Your tomorrow is going very well right now. But what about when Tomorrow gets here?
I love the phrase which is my prayer for me and for you:
STRENGTH FOR TODAY AND HOPE FOR TOMORROW.
Where is the help and hope for tomorrow when today feels as if it has already crashed and crumbled into a heap of ashes? Where is the strength when today is falling apart at the seams? Where is the hope when today’s dark clouds cover the skies? Where do you find strength and hope when hardships weigh you down into the pits of despair both today and tomorrow?
How are you doing tomorrow? Tomorrow? Are you procrastinating undesirable things until tomorrow? Are you already dreading tomorrow? Are you hoping tomorrow never comes?
Tomorrow? Why should you do the undesirable projects today? The dirty dishes and dreaded drama will still be around tomorrow. Why not put those things off until then?
But tomorrow comes and the weight of undone tasks becomes heavier than ever before.
STRENGTH FOR TODAY
No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant (preacher and writer, Alexander MacLaren).
“If an unwelcome task is a thorn, tomorrow will not change it into a rose.” (I am not aware of where that quote originated, but I will credit it to one of Adam’s first conversations with Eve after their Fall.)
Tomorrow. Doom and dread?
HOPE FOR TOMORROW
Sometimes it feels as if God is against you today or else He has lost control of this world. Tomorrow appears worse. God seems distant and disinterested.
We have a poor perspective of tomorrow because we misinterpret our circumstances today. Our human perspective is limited by time and space.
God and His plan to do you good have no such limitations. In fact, nothing can stop Him. Circumstances are not out of His control; they are part of His plan.
The #1 Textbook warns against depending on your tomorrow as well as despairing over it. How do you know what is going to happen tomorrow? For the length of your lives is as uncertain as the morning fog—now you see it; soon it is gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-16).
Self-confidence never pleases God. Faith always please God.
You do not know what tomorrow holds. “The best laid plans of mice and men, oft go astray.” (Originally from a poem by Robert Burns about “the best laid schemes of mice and men oft go astray, replaced by grief and pain”–paraphrased and inspiring the title of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men.)
Unexpected difficulties. Unwanted difficulties. People difficulties. Plan difficulties.
Someone or something messes with our plans. Our dreams get crushed, and that painful memory fills our tomorrow with fear and fret.
My favorite Shakespeare quote (from Macbeth):
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
I think I have always been drawn to the idiot reference.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day…
The #1 Textbook is not as cynical as MacBeth.
It is not wrong to dream and plan. God created us to hope in better days. However, it is best to surrender our plans to God’s adjustments because we are not in control of this world and its tomorrows. However, God sees the end from the beginning.
“If it is God’s will” is not a phrase to add to our plans and prayers. It is not a slogan for our best chances. It is a way of life.
God wants you to live. God wants you to enjoy this life. Above all, God wants you to be changed to live and love like Jesus. That transformation does not happen without suffering and trouble.
“If it is God’s will” is a way of life. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. We do not even control our next breath. We do know God holds us in His hand. We will end up safe and secure.
Jesus LIVES inside us to LEAD us to others He intends to LOVE through us. Today.
We need to Love First and Love Most today…Today. There might not be an earthly tomorrow for us or for others.
Live and love today. Express your love for that person today. Forgive today. Laugh today. Care about someone or something so deeply today that it brings a tear to your eye.
Enjoy the glory of God’s beauty in creation today. You do not have to wait twenty years for another total solar eclipse. Today is marvelous. Tomorrow might be better.
Trust God for today and tomorrow. Tomorrow does not have to be like Today, whether good or bad. Whatever happens Today, make it count for eternity.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW TO TELL SOMEONE YOU LOVE THEM TODAY.
Love First. Love Most.
Hey, thank you, Miss Carhop. You made my Today better and Tomorrow is off to a good start!
LOVE FIRST...LOVE MOST 